In this article, we examine recent trends in the household appliance market in Europe and see how the market is changing. These changes and trends may impact intellectual property strategies for companies acting in this area.

The term “household appliance” covers a large range of domestic appliances from small appliances such as coffee machines, air fryers and hair dryers, through to larger appliances such as dishwashers, domestic air conditioners and refrigerators. The combined revenue for small appliances is set to grow from $15.8 billion in 2024 to $17.4 billion in 2027, with vacuum cleaners making up around 25% of this revenue. The revenue for larger appliances is predicted to grow from $19.5 billion in 2024 to $21.5 billion in 2027, with refrigerators and washing machines predicted to account for a massive 70% of this market.

It is really important to consider the market when devising and implementing an IP strategy. This includes areas of growth within a particular market so that IP protecting the differentiators in the growth areas is generated and asserted as necessary.

One interesting area of growth for household appliances is in the area of smart appliances. Smart appliances are gaining popularity driven by convenience and energy saving and the wider adoption of a “smart home’” by consumers. There is a predicted growth of around 26% in the smart appliance market between 2022 and 2027. With such predicted growth, the “smart” features of a household appliance are becoming important differentiators between products. This has meant household appliance manufacturers are increasing innovation in this area and patents towards these smart differentiators are becoming increasingly important.

In terms of smart features, one of the areas of most importance to consumers is in reducing energy consumption of the household appliance. In particular, in the UK, when 5000 people were surveyed recently, 80% of consumers said that they were concerned about rising energy costs. This means that innovation in the area of energy efficiency and time shifting energy usage to times when energy prices are lower (for example, at night) is of particular importance to consumers.

The fast pace of innovation in smart features means that household appliances are being replaced more regularly by consumers. In a recent survey, 26% of consumers in the UK said that they were planning to buy household appliances within the next 12 months. However, this desire to change household appliances more regularly means that durability may be less important and instead lower prices are becoming increasingly important for consumers. In fact, 25% of UK based consumers in a recent survey of 35,000 consumers from across various markets indicated that a low price is of particular importance for them. The figure was even higher for French consumers, where 31% of consumers indicated that a low price was important for them. This means that household appliance manufacturers may need to focus on reducing costs where possible as opposed to manufacturing products that last for many years.

This drive for reduced costs has also shifted consumers’ buying habits. In 2020, roughly 50% of purchases of household appliances were made online. However, by 2027, with the reduced overhead for online retailers and the increased adoption of online purchasing by consumers, it is predicted that around 60% of household appliance purchases will be made online with only 40% being made in person.

Consumers also really consider brands to be of particular importance when purchasing a household appliance. In a recent survey of 110,000 consumers from across the world, around 35% of them considered brand to be of particular importance. Within this, there was some large regional variation with nearly half of respondents in Poland saying brand was important while only a quarter of Swedes felt that brand was important. This means that it is important that manufacturers consider their brand strategy (and IP associated with that, especially trade mark protection) when operating in any particular market.

As can be seen from this analysis, the household appliance market is changing and companies may need to re-visit their IP strategy to place themselves in a strong position. If you have any questions about this, contact the author or your usual D Young & Co advisor.

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Statistics referenced in this article were obtained from recent Statista market analysis, “The Evolving UK Domestic Appliance Market - Key Insights & Trends”: dycip.com/statista-uk-domestic-appliances